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All-Star Saturday Night events that don't involve Vince Carter, Jason Richardson, Andre Iguodala and/or Kia Optimas are usually lame, but tonight was different. Our very own Jrue Holiday was on center stage at the Taco Bell Skills Competition - the only chance that a member of the Philadelphia 76ers would have of hoisting a trophy this season.
It was all good at the start: Holiday had the best time for the Eastern Conference in the first round (29.3 seconds) and even earned praise from the annoying insightful Reggie Miller from TNT who proclaimed: "That's how do at UCLA... We're all fundamentally sound."
But while visions of churros danced in our collective heads, it simply wasn't meant to be. While Holiday had a very respectable time of 35.6 seconds in the final round, Portland's Damian Lillard (future ROY, potential point GOD) sped through the obstacle course in a mere 28.5 seconds, making him the most skilled player in all of professional basketball. For his efforts, Lillard took home a trophy, won a college scholarship for a young high schooler, and was forced had the chance to dap Nick Cannon on national television. Sadly, if you had Jrue Holiday and +7.0 seconds on your betting slip, you aren't going home a winner tonight.
Jrue lost intentionally so he didn't have to talk to Nick Cannon. Good call.
— Michael Levin (@Michael_Levin) February 17, 2013
You can be sure that Doug Collins texted Jrue several times after the final round telling him that he should work on his long 2s before the second half of the season starts.
Jrue Holiday was confused by the shooting part because he's used to getting yelled at by Collins if he doesn't take contested mid-range 2s.
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) February 17, 2013
Personally, I blame the loss on Holiday's lackadaisical approach to the whole thing. Here's a picture of Holiday in the locker room prior to the Skills Competition - be sure to note the sense of urgency on his face:
#Sixers @jrue_holiday11 at his locker, before #NBAAllStar Saturday night gets started. twitter.com/preston76/stat…
— Michael Preston (@preston76) February 16, 2013
We still love you, Jrue. You just owe us tacos the next time you see us. And scholarships.